Quote Originally Posted by onimaru55 View Post
...or maybe it just floats the blade over the stone more lightly than water does.
That's my theory (double your money-back guarantee). That (to be more pacific) the drying slurry creates a condition such that the razor's contact with the stone is minimized, but yet honing is continued.

It's a bit like intentional glazing. I see it as a mechanical means of reducing contact with the stone, which is what reducing pressure does.

Compounding the two gives as little as practical contact with the honing surface, or the smallest possible scratches. mebbe? fix me where i'm bent.